Arian Foster admits getting money in college

Posted by Darin Gantt on September 20, 2013, 2:13 PM EDT

AP

Texans running back Arian Foster pulled back the curtain on what many people think has been happening in college football since college football was invented, admitting he took money while at the University of Tennessee.

Sports Illustrated obtained a clip from a new documentary called “Schooled: The Price of College Sports,” which included Foster making it clear he did something outside the lines of the NCAA’s rules.

“I don’t know if this will throw us into an NCAA investigation — my senior year, I was getting money on the side,” Foster said. “I really didn’t have any money. I had to either pay the rent or buy some food. I remember the feeling of like, ‘Man, be careful.’ But there’s nothing wrong with it. And you’re not going to convince me that there is something wrong with it.

“There were plenty of times where throughout the month I didn’t have enough for food. Our stadium had like 107,000 seats; 107,000 people buying a ticket to come watch us play. It’s tough just like knowing that, being aware of that.”

Foster recalled calling a coach and telling him he didn’t have money for food, only for the coach to deliver tacos.

“But then, the next day I walk up to the facility and I see my coach pull up in a brand new Lexus. Beautiful,” Foster said. “I’m a firm believer that an employee should get paid for his work. And, 100 percent, I see student athletes as employees. Hiding from it is just cowardly.”

As it pertains to his NFL employment, the words don’t matter. He’s a pro now, with the money in exchange for his services passing above the table.

The patrons of the league’s free farm system might mind, but Foster’s willingness to expose a commonly held belief (at least among us cynics) might help kill some of the hypocrisy the NCAA has created.

Yeah, that free college education (plus money for rent, books and food) and the opportunity to showcase your talents for a job in the NFL is not nearly enough compensation for 18-22 year olds playing a child’s game.

Maybe your coach had a Lexus because he’s good at his job and has already worked 20-30 more years than you, Arian. The attitude of entitlement among some college and professional athletes is unbelievable.

so you are telling me football players at Tennessee aren’t given free food? the team doesn’t watch what their players eat? scholarships don’t include meal plans? maybe that’s why Tennessee has been so bad lately. every other big program provides food for their players.

The NCAA is on its deathbed. There’s too much money in college ball and the big programs are tired of being bullied by a hypocritical, inconsistent, and mysterious governing organization. If the NCAA can’t adapt and make their rules and restrictions more realistic, the big programs will just leave and form their own American College Athletic Association.

Some NCAA control is OK, and it would ruin the sport forever if half the PAC, the Big 12, original 10, the SEC, and half the ACC, and ND just left formed their own laissez-faire big money league. We better get psyched for a UCONN/CMU National championship, because that’s where we’re heading unless the NCAA can lose its “Get off my lawn!” attitude.

“I’m a firm believer that an employee should get paid for his work. And, 100 percent, I see student athletes as employees. Hiding from it is just cowardly.”

Don’t these kids get fed on campus? They already get free everything else. Give them 50 bucks a week. Plenty to buy a pizza on Friday, and hit Mickie D’s a couple of times.

A Lexus? A grown man who has paid his dues in his career deserves more than some 19/20 year old with a sense of entitlement. I don’t blame these kids for taking the cash, but a 6 figure college education is not exactly getting nothing in return.

They are getting paid anyway. Regulate it. This is just like marijuana legalization. People are going to do it anyway and the majority doesn’t have an issue with it. Pay the players. And please don’t throw out the straw man “then you have to pay women’s gymnastics too”. Pay them based on the revenue their sport brings in, it should be commensurate with the revenue they generate for the university.

Anyone who thinks these universities are first and foremost concerned about the student athlete over $$$ is naive. They are indentured servants.

He’s right, and it’s not just about the money when he’s talking about his coach showing up in a brand new Lexus.

A coach can bail on his team as soons as he gets a whiff of greener pastures, sometimes not even finishing out the season, but a player has to sit out an entire year to transfer between programs? Or is held to a letter of intent when personal situations change? That’s insane.

He’s not wrong but he is whinny. When I was 18-20 I had no money or food either, but I was able to have my job at KFC that provided whatever food was left over at the end of the day – it is pretty ridiculous that they’re filling a stadium and don’t even get a per diem. Also to be picky in most schools students aren’t paying for their seats directly, so it’s not 107k seats were paid tickets.

Couldn’t agree with Foster more. Fans don’t fill stadiums to watch the fat old guy pacing the sidelines.
While college players are compensated for their efforts with scholarships, it is not close to being in line with the value they represent to their schools. Furthermore, it’s beyond obvious that many of them have zero desire to get a college education. In fact, many of them don’t, getting passed through courses where they do next to nothing and learn as much.
It’s well past time to establish minor league football and basketball modeled after baseball and hockey farm systems.
Institutions of higher education should focus on education.

This just proves that Adrian Peterson is more classy and more talented than Arian
_____________
I don;t think there’s any question AP is more talented, but if you think he wasn’t getting hooked up all the time at OU, you are a fool. Equally foolish is the thought that Arian Foster isn’t one of the biggest class acts in the league.

Anyone arguing that they are all “paid” through scholarships might need to realistically look at the situation.

A college education is only valuable if a player actually wants an education. The only way to get to the NFL is to play college ball. It is a means to an end. Many players have no interest in a degree. Your free education is as valuable to them as an old bottle cap collection.

The system is broken. People are making millions off of talented individuals without a choice. Football is part of the Entertainment Industry. You do not force musicians and actors to go to college before they can use their talents professionally, but somehow we feel we need to force these kids into an education.

In the long run might an education benefit them? Sure. Is that something we have the right to decide for them? Absolutely not.

BTW, college in general is a complete fraud. MOST people don’t need to go to college since they’re never going to do anything with their “degree.” Some fields are the exception but for the most part it’s a just a scam.

Don’t believe me? What part of the government made more money last year than Exxon or Apple? Here’s a headline from the Huffing Post.

“Obama Student Loan Policy Reaping $51 Billion Profit”

As they said in Caddyshack, “the world needs ditch diggers too” and you don’t need a college education to do that.

Most coaches at major colleges get loaner cars from dealerships as a form of free advertising.

Like others have pointed out schools like this have free meal plans for their athletes built into their scholarships.

Heck, I went to a rinky dink junior college before blowing out my shoulder and we had all you can eat meals at the cafeteria, and even the snack bar, and trust me. That rinky dink school was a far, far way from being an SEC school.

Its funny that pro players lie for the NCAA so they can continue to take advantage of another generation of players. If all the NFL players that got paid in college just came out and admitted it, the entire institution of college ball would be turned upside down. But instead everyone just continues to pretend that it never happens and act shocked when the occasional athlete gets caught. Who do they think they are fooling?

Foster is full of crap. Every UT player on scholarship had unlimited access to dining halls across campus, free housing, books, tuition, academic support, and even cash via Pell Grants if they qualified. He and his whiney helicopter mother need to put a sock in it. I suspect other schools were paying him to fumble because that’s exactly what his legacy is at Tennessee. Cost us games. He was so immature. Google and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

onebucplace says:
Sep 20, 2013 2:39 PM
BTW, college in general is a complete fraud. MOST people don’t need to go to college since they’re never going to do anything with their “degree.” Some fields are the exception but for the most part it’s a just a scam.

Don’t believe me? What part of the government made more money last year than Exxon or Apple? Here’s a headline from the Huffing Post.

“Obama Student Loan Policy Reaping $51 Billion Profit”

As they said in Caddyshack, “the world needs ditch diggers too” and you don’t need a college education to do that.
_________________________

The NCAA is on its deathbed. There’s too much money in college ball and the big programs are tired of being bullied by a hypocritical, inconsistent, and mysterious governing organization. If the NCAA can’t adapt and make their rules and restrictions more realistic, the big programs will just leave and form their own American College Athletic Association.

Some NCAA control is OK, and it would ruin the sport forever if half the PAC, the Big 12, original 10, the SEC, and half the ACC, and ND just left formed their own laissez-faire big money league. We better get psyched for a UCONN/CMU National championship, because that’s where we’re heading unless the NCAA can lose its “Get off my lawn!” attitude.
****************************************

The NCAA is just the enforcer. It is the big schools that make the rules. The NCAA just enforces what the college presidents sit around and vote on. Why the heck do you think college students will never get paid. This has been an issue since I was born, and I’m 40. College presidents will never vote to contribute money towards any athlete. It simply won’t happen. We have been fooled into thinking the NCAA is a bunch of hard asses making college football what it is. All they do is take the blame for the presidents and enforce whatever rules the presidents put in place. We need to light a fire under these Presidents.

I am so tired of these men complaining that they have to either pay rent or buy food. You are there on a scholarship that includes housing, food, and stipends. if you can’t manage on everything being free, and evidently going to off campus housing and good, that is your problem. Don’t blame the NCAA. You knew what you were getting going in. There are plenty of athletes out there that pay their way through school, while working, and you don’t see this issue. And they don’t act like entitled jerks!

alldonesmith says:
Sep 20, 2013 2:22 PM
“Yeah, that free college education (plus money for rent, books and food) and the opportunity to showcase your talents for a job in the NFL is not nearly enough compensation for 18-22 year olds playing a child’s game.”

Of course you know that argument is only partially true because,

1) the scholarships are one year deals that get renewed. The kids can lose the scholarship as soon as they are no longer of use to the institution as an athlete.
2) The scholarship athlete at a big time university is an employee first and student second. Anyone who claims otherwise is not being honest.

The coaches get paid massive salaries because they work in a business that generates massive profits because their is no free market for the wages of the players. What do you think Manziel would make if schools were allowed to bid for his services with dollars…a heck of a lot more than the cost of a 4 year scholarship.

I really don’t understand how anyone can defend this system regardless of your political leanings. From the left it looks like exploited labour, from the right it’s anti-free market.

quit the team, take out loans & be a regular student if you don’t like the arrangement ..there are countless others who’d be eager to fill your vacated roster spot ..Arian Foster was average at best in college

The very last thing this country needs is is to have yahoos perpetuating the belief that higher education is unnecessary or unimportant. No matter what field you eventually go into, a college education is necessary and valuable. We have a responsibility to seek education for ourselves and our children until we die The only folks who don’t understand that are those who lack education.

Maybe someone ought to clue him in on how much he ‘got paid’ via scholarships? He probably couldn’t even tell you what it cost to attend per year when he was a student. I’m sure it’s atleast $20k a year to attend…..probably alot higher than that.

They would hate their salaries to go from $80,000 to $60,000, don’t want tax increases that are under 5%, wouldn’t want job opportunities taken away from them, food stamps, or government cheese.

They’re also one of the fattest and/or likely the least physically conditioned in the world (yes there are plenty of slow thin people).

What would they know about what college athletes go through? Nada!

Would they also want to feel forced or have no choice but to have a crappy major because of their lack of academic intellect that the schools live by or football schedule that is tied to their one-year scholarships???

Academic scholarship recipients never have to go through this.

In addition, why stay poor???

Shouldn’t the poor and their families get more security?

Obviously no one wants to see others’ moms cry with joy because their kids helped them. It seems to me that people don’t realize that it’s easier to have privileges before getting and while having an alleged prize with extreme restrictive conditions than it is to be poor beforehand and while possessing the same alleged prize.

I am not sorry to say this when these comment writers likely typed from an smart phone or a computer that their privileged (middle or rich class) parents likely bought for them.

Anyone who feels sorry for college athletes obviously hasn’t had to pay back student loans (for several years). In addition to full tuition, they also get free books, room and board, AND MEALS.
_____________
The student body’s tuition is a school’s subsistence income. Big name athletic program schools rely almost entirely on their players to generate profit, lure recruits, and continue growing and improving as an institution. Football programs aren’t just about seats, they’re about merchandising and televised games.

Foster’s on-field success translates directly into not only his coach’s Lexus, but into every Tennessee Volunteers sweatshirt, koozie, golf bag, and baseball cap that will ever be sold. Every dollar of the millions Chic-Fil-A’s sponsorship nets the Vols is thanks to Foster’s ability to get the team on national and local television.

Yes, they get room and board and scholarships, while you and I have to pay student loans; but our loans pay back our professors, cafeteria workers, and registrar’s offices. The net contributions (contribution minus scholarship, room and board) of Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown paid for Tommy Tuberville to own the largest house in the state of Alabama.

So no, I’m not going to feel “sorry” for a division-I football player (mostly because I’m incredibly jealous), but I can totally see where they’re coming from. Our years of student loan payments don’t amount to anything near the millions Foster indirectly paid his school.

And besides, I worked during college so I could go to chipotle, take girls out, have money to spend on the weekends, etc. but football is a full-time job– if you come from a tough background, like Arian Foster, where his family doesn’t have any money to give him, and he doesn’t have time to make any on his own, is it really fair to ask him to forgo girls, movies, chipotle, natty light, etc. just because he’s receiving room and board? (for the record, “and board” is the same as “AND MEALS!”)

I had friends at LSU (saban days) and FSU (bowden days) and both groups lived the good life for a college kid…while I was in class taking test and writing term papers they were in the study hall with some hot chick “getting notes”. When I was struggling to buy a jacket for the winter they were parading around in new nike gear and while I was happy to go to Orlando for the summer they were bragging about which stadium is the nicest and which city they like the most. I’m now 30 years old and still do not have the nike clothes or shoes they had as a college kid and I still haven’t traveled like them or talked to the women they have but I am supposed to feel like they should have been getting paid in addition to what they were already receiving…..NOPE!!!!!!!

College football players are like EVERYONE ELSE in the world…if you went to Money Mayweather and asked him if he made enough money in his last fight(over 40m-purse alone) I am sure he would say “NO” and that he wants more…it is in human nature to complain and say you always need more, more more!!! A college athlete is no exception to the rule, they will always want more!

There are all kids of students who make the school money without being compensated, those who are doing research, the band majors, the art kids who are creating things, etc. as these all get the school money. So all students would have to be considered employees, not just the athletes.

Although yes, athletes make the school the most money usually, they are not the only ones who bring in money, so this argument needs to extend to all.

Hell, why stop there, pay all highschool and middle school atheletes, because they bring in money for the school too, albeit on a smaller scale.

In fact, with his logic, schools are now your official employer. Have fun with that folks!

hatesycophants says:
Sep 20, 2013 2:55 PM
The very last thing this country needs is is to have yahoos perpetuating the belief that higher education is unnecessary or unimportant. No matter what field you eventually go into, a college education is necessary and valuable. We have a responsibility to seek education for ourselves and our children until we die The only folks who don’t understand that are those who lack education.

—————

You think you can only become “educated” by going to college? What a simple, simple mind you have. There are tons of way to educate yourself on anything. For example there is something called a book that is accessible to anyone with a Library card. OR you can use this new fangled thing called the INTERNET to learn stuff. Going to school, getting six figures into debt to learn some nonsense that is completely unhelpful in the real world isn’t what I would call ‘smart’. If you want to be a doctor, certainly, please go to school. However if you’re going to school for a liberal arts degree just go work at Burger King instead, it’s where you’re going to end up anyways.

They freaking get the meal plan or eat at the training table, they get the best food to eat, this guy is so full of crap. Yeah, the coaches are going to make sure they go hungry lol. They have nutritionist who help them eat right. Stupid guy just doesn’t know how to buy food with his stipend or way too lazy to eat at the dining halls.

Maybe someone ought to clue him in on how much he ‘got paid’ via scholarships? He probably couldn’t even tell you what it cost to attend per year when he was a student. I’m sure it’s atleast $20k a year to attend…..probably alot higher than that.
_____________
Maybe you should get clued in on how Tennessee made “atleast”$100k every time a Chick-Fil-A commercial appeared on screen when the Vols were on television. Football players don’t have time to bring in extra money by holding a job. If you think making literally millions for his school but never having an extra dollar to his name is worth a full-ride scholarship and cafeteria food, then I guess you have a good point.

Either way, point is, he’s not complaining, just explaining that this is a reality. It’s the only way the system works. And that’s an inarguable fact.

Ok cool, go ahead and pay them. But no more scholarships then. You are no better than any other kid in america except that you were genetically gifted with football talent. Don’t tell me it was hard work. I’m sure that was part of it, but the average person can’t make it to the NFL through hard work.

I’ve been on both sides of this matter, on one hand the schools make a lot of money and the athletes don’t receive any cash payment for their services but when u consider room, board schooling food and all the other perks of being a scholarship athlete then it pretty much evens out. Not to mention the ability to showcase themselves and position themselves for future financial stability via their respective pro drafts.

Well…..another player getting paid. The funny thing is how he had no money for food, yet he had a scholarship that included three free meals per day- all you can eat.

I have no problem if a player needs money to live, to purchase things. The thing is most scholarship athletes get those things as part of their scholarship to school. They may not get a nice car to drive around, or a bunch of tattoos, or really awesome clothes. Oh wait….they do get those things with the money they get. Along with a free education.

The vast majority of student athletes stop playing once they get their diploma. When it comes to football, I think it’s less than 3% of eligible players get a sniff from the NFL, much less get drafted.

College tuition is expensive. College tuition to a prestigious college is hella expensive.

So they play for an education, something that will carry them forward when every team passes on their free agency status after they turn 30.

With that said, college athletes can’t supplement their free tuition with a part-time job for food….they’re too busy being students and college athletes.

NCAA rules prevent schools from helping out more with their college athletes. So illegal stuff happens with boosters and whatever.

And I think that as long as the NCAA squeezes them that hard, it’s OK by me if they get slipped a little something extra.

Anyone that agrees they should be paid probably voted for Barry and are living off me , here’s the deal.
They get a Free education , healthcare and food (at the facility) they also get a chance to learn their “craft” to show they can or cannot perform at the next level, should they get paid NO but they should have their living and meals paid that is all.

They freaking get the meal plan or eat at the training table, they get the best food to eat, this guy is so full of crap. Yeah, the coaches are going to make sure they go hungry lol. They have nutritionist who help them eat right. Stupid guy just doesn’t know how to buy food with his stipend or way too lazy to eat at the dining halls.
________________
So he doesn’t deserve one chipotle burrito during his entire college experience, not one slice of Dominos,not one Will Ferrell movie, not one case of Natty Light, not one dinner at a nice Italian restaurant that’s going to get some girl totally good to go? I’ve made the same point a couple times above, but I feel like people just don’t understand what it’s like to have to work two jobs just to be able to live a normal life while going to college. So there’s no way you could imagine what it would be like to have no money and not be able to hold a job. It doesn’t matter how many perks you get, you’re missing out on being able to enjoy some of the best years of your life. Football players making money isn’t whining: it’s just fair, and it’s just reality.

I really don’t have a problem with them getting a few hundred bucks a month to do whatever they want with, a lot of these guys come from very poor families and even getting a new pair of shoes is a very big deal for them. I know that the schools provide food but sometimes you want to take your girl out for a big trip to Red Lobster – not everyone wants to eat 7 days a week, 3 times a day in the same place. It’s one thing if you just don’t want to work, its another when you’re not allowed to work. Let the guys have jobs or give them a little bit of money so they can go out with their friends and such. Again these guys are not allowed to work, that is what makes it different.

Anyone that agrees they should be paid probably voted for Barry and are living off me , here’s the deal.
They get a Free education , healthcare and food (at the facility) they also get a chance to learn their “craft” to show they can or cannot perform at the next level, should they get paid NO but they should have their living and meals paid that is all.
________
I don’t see that connection at all. Football is a business, businesses should be able to use their profits to make money. In my mind NCAA restrictions have a lot more in common with big government and high taxes. Let’s play a matching game:
1. merit based income
2. regulated income supplemented by generic, across the board, bureautically controlled public assistance
A. Right wing fiscal policies
B. Left wing fiscal policies

If you answered 1B, 2A, you probably have no idea what you’re talking about. If you try to arbitrarily ascribe your political beliefs to the position you’re taking in an argument, even when the two have no correlation whatsoever, you probably shouldn’t be touting your politics at all.

All of this will be irrelevant when the NFL decides it wants more control over who they are giving millions of dollars. they will create a developmental league. 32 new franchises with players ages 18-21, or older if they need to work on part of their game. The problem is when does that league play and how much will the TV money bring in. The NFL will never pay for anything out of pocket, so as soon as TV steps up, college football will be a shell of what it is today.

In the meantime, if the 4 biggest conferences all decided to tell the NCAA to go blow and dicided to govern themselves, it would at least make the NCAA irelavent now, and the sooner the better.

Free education doesn’t pay the bills. And before you say ‘get a part time job!’, WHEN are they supposed to get a part time job? Between practice every day, traveling for games on weekends, doing whatever little school work they are required to do that isn’t just looked past for being a football player, that leaves exactly what? 5-8 hours a week? @ min wage? so they’d earn a MAX of $50-60 a week before taxes. So for $35/week they can spend what little free/downtime they have sweating over the fry pit? C’mon now…

You do not get unlimited food as a scholarship athlete. Other than paying for school all you get is 3 meals a day which is not enough for any college football player. You get no money for grocery shopping so you can have food in your apartment, no money for clothes or shoes over a 4-5 year span as you are growing, no gas money if you have a car, no money to do things that regular students do like go see a movie or go out with friends after a game. Some kids have families who can send them money but most don’t. If your family can’t afford to give you side money are you supposed to just eat 3 times a day, where the same clothes, walk around with $0 in your wallet for 4-5 years while also being told you can’t work or have a job?? If you don’t agree with paying players that is fine but then you can’t tell them they cannot have a side job or work for money in the springs and summers. They worked hard and earned those scholarships and make the school a lot of money. Just because they are getting a free education doesn’t mean in trade they shouldn’t be given or have the opportunity to earn the expenses to live like a normal college student in their 20’s.

Whatever amount is agreed to give them it won’t be enough. Someone will always offer more.
Give them a small stipend and someone will offer $5000. And it will be argued they deserve it.
Give them $5000 and someone will sneak them $12k. And it will be argued they deserve it.
Give them $30,000 and someone will boost them up to $42,000 under the table. And it will be argued they deserve it.
In sports we know there is never enough. QB’s hold out for 120 million because 116 million is not enough. And we argue they deserve it. He needs to get all he can to take care of his family. Like he will live better or any different at $120 instead of $116.
We argue today the opportunity for a college education and the endless training table of food is not enough. Along with the on the field training and education of their perferred profession (football). So let’s give them money.
But they will want more, and they will justify that they deserve the cash in the handshake because the stipend is not enough.

People like to say “just end all this under the table paying of players by having the NCAA or the schools pay them.”
But then they also argue players should get every penny they can before they lose their chance due to injury.
So why if SouthEastern State and Cash Cow Tech will both pay the players the same amout legally, will Cash Cow Tech suddenly no longer add a little extra under the table to help with recruiting?
And when caught, why wont we continue to argue, the legal amount is not enough?

My dream has been a four year league. You can play in it any four years over a five year period. No trading of players and the ability to switch teams is difficult. So you are recruited much like the college system.
Colleges can sponsor the teams, cities can, heck let IBM have a team. The colleges can offer the scholarships as part of the pay. They can even require the pursuit of a degree. Contract can lock you in where you cant go to the NFL “early” or it can be worded to give you opt outs.
Probably need a salary cap or roster limits, large but a limit.
Let the Alabama Crimson Tide face the Lockheed Lugheads for the national championship. Or let Coca-cola have a joint venture with GA Tech.

• Why should we pay someone to play a GAME?
• The same game they began playing in childhood.
• Should we pay them in high school? High schools profit, too, don’t they?
• Should the college swim team get paid, as well? Should the 2nd string kicker get paid the same amount as the star QB? What’s the value/merit system?
• Foster was 17-18 years old, and being PAID $25k/year. How many other kids make that much? I’m 46, got into university (an academic institution) based on academic merits, and am still paying student loans. If college costs $25k per year, it probably costs $35k/year after y0u calculate interest on loans.
• Paying players MORE only leaves more room for corruption. Recruiting becomes a bidding war.
• Paying players MORE only increases the separation between the ‘real’ student body and the athletes. Fandom is created by a CONNECTION between fans/students and the players.
• And, how much is the ‘star athlete experience’ worth? Ask a multi-millionaire fan how much he would pay to live that dream. Be BMOC. Score chicks 4-5 points above his own level. Score a TD or dunk in front of 30,000-100,000 screaming fans. Establish brand identity and celebrity value before you reach age 21…. The value of all that? Can’t put a price tag on it. Priceless. But, it all comes with the ‘scholarship.’
• These pro athletes are making millions BASED ON the college experience. Just like any doctor or lawyer or broker…. You pay your dues in college, and then make money.
• Somehow, the undereducated athlete thinks he’s entitled to make the same kind of money as the people/institutions that have investment interest in the moneymaking system? They’re just employees. As any ‘worker’ knows, if you work for a company and that company creates a product that makes a jillion dollars, the worker doesn’t get a share. He was paid to create the situation that enables the creation of that jillion dollars. You want to MAKE that jillion dollars? Start your own company.

Foster just went from being a ‘favorite’ to just another selfish rule-breaker. What did he just do to his alma mater? There’s gratitude for you.

I doubt very much that Tennessee wasn’t providing Foster with food and lodging. Sounds like the dorm wasn’t good enough for the ‘superstar.’ So, he needed fancier digs. Sounds like the cafeteria wasn’t good enough. Eating amongst the rabble wasn’t ‘appropriate’ for the superstar. So, he needed Chick-Fil-A funds….

How about this: cut out all summer training, so these kids can get summer jobs, like everyone else. Then, they’d have their hoodie, Dr Dre Beats, diamond earring, Chick-Fil-A/taco money for the school year. Like everyone else.

Posting a comment containing 3 times the number of words of the original article is bad form. Also, no one with an ounce of basic common sense reads such a post in its entirety. Lastly, following up such a lengthy tome with yet another post is freaking ridiculous.

Public school teacher of forty years here. I feel strongly that SOMETHING is seriously wrong with The NCAA as well as the universities and colleges that are supposedly “educating” so many of the typical “student athletes.” An inordinately large number of jocks should in NO way be enrolled in the first place, and the universities/ colleges as well as The NCAA are well aware of it, and yet they matriculate hordes of functionally illiterate young men who come from gut-wrenching poverty year after year. The promise of a “free” college education is a farce and sham from the first day the ball player enters, to the last day of his eligibility. Meantime DURING the jock’s eligibility, universities AND The NCAA rake in untold millions of dollars and the kids leaving body parts all over the college gridirons? Well, they need to ask their coaches, who are up to THEIR eyeballs in the ongoing exploitation process, for TACOS!!! Naturally, when eligibility is up, the athlete is abruptly shown the door. I dislike spoiled, enabled/entitled athletes as much as anyone, however their character flaws PALE in comparison to the hypocritical and cynical cabal that is the NCAA, athletic departments, and of course coaches who knowingly exploit these naive men-children, promising the moon and delivering falsehoods and misery on their way to further glory and riches for themselves and the institutes of snake oil for whom they shill. There MUST be a better path and leveling of the plying fields, so to speak for these young men. I doubt it will happen any time soon, and I certainly do not have a solution handy, however it’s difficult for me to blindly take the side of The NCAA, et al.

Fine. Let each University disassociate itself from sports – all sports, let’s be fair. Let private investors purchase the rights to the teams and facilities. Then pay the athletes their market value. And if the athlete chooses to spend his money on an education, that’s on him. And if a third tier player can’t afford food, lodging, or an education, well that’s just how the markets work. Big money is already destroying the college game with traditional rivalries going out the door with conference realignments, etc. so why not? Granted, all the athletes that compete in sports like gymnastics and archery, etc. won’t have a lot left over to pay for an education, but that’s the price of putting college athletics on a fair market system.

Excuse me college athletes. You are already being paid for your football. It’s called a scholarship. If you start paying athletes you take the competitive aspect of college athletics right out of the picture.

Do I think athletes need a more substantial monthly stipend? Absolutely, no question.